Update: Puyallup Suspect Charged, Told Police He Committed 'Father's Worst Sin'

UPDATE, 2:40 p.m.:

When Michael League called Puyallup Police on Sunday, he told them he had “committed a father’s worst sin” and shot his adult son and daughter in the head.

He knew his son, Dennis, was still alive and he wanted to shoot him again, then planned to shoot himself, according to charging documents released Monday.

League was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Danielle Faucett, 43, and one count of attempted first-degree murder, although prosecutors said in the documents they do not expect Dennis to survive and additional charges could be filed. Bail was set at $2 million, and his next court date is set for May 2.

According to the documents, the family had been through ongoing problems involving their son and daughter, who both lived with them, along with Dennis League’s sons, ages 6 and 7.

The victims’ mother, Jo Ann League, told police that “the stress of having Dennis League, who apparently has an alcohol problem, and Faucett, who apparently suffered from schizophrenia, living in the home had been difficult” for the couple, court documents said.

Jo Ann League told detectives that the couple had been gone for a few days and the house was a mess when they returned March 22. They were told that police had been to the house while they were gone because of a domestic dispute between the brother and sister.

Still, she said everything appeared normal when they went to bed March 23.

But at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, March 24, the elder League called police to report what he had done.

When police arrived, they convinced Michael League to come out of the house, and he told them his wife and grandsons were inside, unhurt, and that he had left a gun on the kitchen counter.

Police found a .22-caliber pistol on a pillow on a counter with a hole in it. They found Dennis League on a living room couch with a gunshot wound to the forehead, and they found Faucett in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the top of her head. Both were taken to Tacoma General Hospital, where Faucett died.

Michael League told police about a “litany of family issues and determined there was no other way to resolve them,” the court documents said. He said he plotted for about an hour before shooting his children, using a pillow to muffle the sound.

He said he intended to kill himself “but called 911 because he didn't want his wife or grandchildren to find the bodies.”

League’s wife told police that during a prior discussion, her husband “told her he should just ‘shoot 'em, shoot us all.’ She said she did not take this comment seriously.”

UPDATE, 2:10 p.m.:

A 69-year-old Puyallup man was charged Monday in the shooting death of his adult daughter and the shooting of his adult son.

Michael P. League, 69, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Danielle Faucett, and with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of his son, Dennis League, according to charging documents from the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office.

Patch will update this story with details shortly.

ORIGINAL:

The Puyallup man suspected of fatally shooting his adult daughter and critically injuring his adult son over the weekend is set to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Pierce County Superior Court.

Charges have not yet been filed against the 69-year-old, who was booked into the Pierce County Jail on Sunday morning after calling police to report he had shot his adult children.

The suspect’s son, Dennis League, remained in critical condition Monday morning at Tacoma General Hospital, according to a spokeswoman.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner has not yet released the name of the man’s 43-year-old daughter, who died at Tacoma General on Sunday.